Pathological characteristics according to age at diagnosis in 2 929 men with prostate cancer

Objective To compare pathological grading characteristics according to age at diagnosis in men with prostate cancer. Methods A single institutional review of 2 929 records of patients diagnosed with prostate cancer from January 2000 to June 2016 was conducted. Patients [age from 33 to 91 years old, averaged (70.0±8.0) years old] were stratified by age: only 133 cases (4.5%) were in young group (≤55 years old), 2 033 cases(69.5%) in middle-aged group (56-75 years old ), and 763 cases (26.0%) in senile group (76-91 years old). The pathological grading characteristics (Gleason sum, primary Gleason score, the second primary Gleason score, the percent of Gleason pattern 5) were compared among the three groups. Results The median Gleason sum of the three groups were 8 (6-10), 7 (3-10), and 8 (3-10), respectively. Gleason sum, primary Gleason score, the second primary Gleason score were different among the three groups (H=12.975, P=0.002; H=9.264, P=0.010; H=6.692, P=0.035). The percentage of Gleason pattern 5 were 44.4%, 32.3% and 36.8% respectively, with significant difference(χ2=11.641, P=0.003) among the three groups. The difference between young group and middle-aged group, and the difference between middle-aged group and senile group were all significant(χ2=8.183, P=0.004; χ2=5.065, P=0.024). Conclusions Gleason sum was different based on age groups. The percentage of Gleason pattern 5 in young group and senile group are much higher than that in middle-aged group. The prostate cancer was more aggressive in young or senile men than in middle-aged men. Key words: Prostatic neoplasms; Gleason score; Age; Prognosis